Sewer cleaning device



y 26, 1964 J. M. CRISCUOLO 3,134,119

SEWER CLEANING DEVICE Filed Jan. 19, 1962 Iii! INVENTOR. JAMES M. CRISCUOLO BY aoamymflpwzm ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,134,119 3EWERCLEANING DEVEQCE James M. Criscuolo, 1938 Wallace Ave, Bronx, NY. FiledJan. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 167,392 4- Ciaims. (Cl. 1il4.3)

This application is related to my coapending applications Serial No.9,846, filed February 119, 1960*, now U.S. Patent 3,048,870, whichlatter application is a continuation-in-part of my application SerialNo. 617,395, filed October 22, 1956, now abandoned.

My invention relates to cleaning sewers and drain pipes and, moreparticularly, provides an easily assembled and readily transportablesewer cleaner equipped to withstand the stresses, especially angularstresses, imposed on such devices by obstructions in sewers and drains.

The sewer cleaning machines commonly in use today are made up primarilyof a cleaning instrument, usually a rotating cutting tool strong enoughto cut through tree roots and similar obstructions found in sewer pipe,a rotating drive device, and "a connecting link for connecting the drivedevice to the tool. Such connecting links are most commonly braidedsteel cables or tightly wound steel wire coils, or a combination ofboth, attached at one end to the cutting tool and at the other end tothe drive device, which usually is an electric motor. Variousarrangements are commonly used for attaching the drive device to thecable link, such as belts, pulleys, gears, and chains, which permit aportion of the link to be retained on a drum or reel while an extendedportion, attached to the cutting tool, is rotated.

The forward progress of the cutting tool along the internal length ofthe sewer or drain is usually made by passing the relatively stiff cableor wire coil hand over hand into the conduit to be cleaned to drive thecutting tool forward so long as no obstructions interfere or so long asthere is cable or coil left on the reel or in the cable drum. As aresult, the operator is rarely out of close contact with his sewercleaning equipment and must almost continuously hazard the dangersinherent in being close to or in actually handling a continuously movingsteel cable.

The greatest hazard to the operator and his equipment, and one whichoften befalls even the most experienced operator arises when hisrotating cutting tool strikes an obstruction in the sewer line whichdoes not give way and which causes the cutting blade to stop rotating,despite the fact that torque is still applied to the cable. This sort ofstoppage causes the cable to twist, kink, and perhaps break.Consequently, a potentially destructive strain is put on an expensivepiece of equipment, no matter how quickly power may be shut off. Moreimportant, however, is the danger to the operator of having the twistingcable torn from his hands and, just as easily, of being struck by thelashing cable or its broken ends. It is an object of my inventionsubstantially to eliminate this danger without the necessity ofcompletely cutting off the power supply.

Another disadvantage common to sewer cleaning devices is their bulk andweight. The cable is particularly cumbersome, since it is not uncommonto employ it in 100 lengths weighing from about 60* to 80 pounds whichare normally stored on reels or drum cable containers having about a 2radius and which are most often themselves of metal. It is an object ofmy invention to make the transportation of such cable and its containersas safe and as convenient as possible by substantially eliminating theneed for lifting them.

It is also an object of my invention to make the assembly of theequipment, particularly the connection between the cable and the drivepower source for rotating the cutting tool, as simple as possible byeliminating the need for belts, pulleys, gears or chains and excessivemanipulations by the operator.

These and other objects are accomplished by my sewer cleaner which hastwo larger components. These are a rotatable drum cable containermounted upon a horizontal axis which serves not only to store andtransport the cable or wire to be used, but also to impart to the cablethe rotational force ultimately to be communicated to the cutting tool,and a support means upon which the drum and the power source forrotating the drum can be firmly secured. The two components are soconstructed as to afford the operator as much ease as possible intransporting the device. For a more complete understanding of thepractical application of the features and principles of my invention,reference is made to the appended drawings in which:

FIGURES l and 2 are front elevations of an embodiment of the sewercleaning system of my invention; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side view of the embodiment of my inventionshown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

In the embodiment of my invention depicted in FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3, afreely rotatable curved cable conduit 1112 is rotatably mounted on axle104 by means of bushing 106. The conduit 102 is a hollow, bent pipewhich curves from the bushing 16% into the drum '1 and outwardly along aradius of the drum. A cable 3 with a cutting tool 16 fastened to itsouter end is led out of the drum, through the conduit, toward theobstructed pipe .to be cleaned. Drum 1 is also rotatably mounted on axle104 as by a bushing, not shown, bolted to sidewall 17. As can be seen inFIGURE 3, the axle 134 extends beyond the side-wall 1'7 of drum 1. Asupport member 108 is mounted for rotation about this portion of axle104. Finally, at the end of axle 104- remote from the conduit W2, amotor mounting member 116' is also mounted for rotation about axle 164.The conduit 102, the support member 1118 and the motor mounting member110, along with the axle 1114, are held together by a pair of washers112 and a pair of bolts 114- threadedly received in each end of axle1124.

As can be seen from the drawings, particularly FIG- URES 1 and 2,support member 1118 is of a generally triangular shape and has two legs116 and 118 attached thereto and extending radially outward from theaxis of axle 1M. Legs 116 and 113 are provided with feet 120 and 122,respectively, disposed parallel to the axis of axle 104. The legs 116and 11 8 are of such length that they extend sufiiciently beyond theperiphery ofdr'um 1 and tire 2 so that when the sewer cleaner isassembled it can stand on feet 129 and 122 and a suificient clearancebetween tire 2 and the surface upon which the feet 120 and 122 arestanding is provided to permit rotation of the drum 1.

Motor mounting member 111 is provided with three cylindrical holes 124,126, and 128 located at the end of motor mounting member 111) remotefrom axle 104.

set screw 134 tightened to hold it in place.

arrangemenhihandle 136 functions as a third support Holes 124 and 126are disposed such that their axes extend radially from the axis of axle1'34. Hole 128, however, is disposed so that its axis intersects theaxes of both hole 126 and axle 104. Each of these cylindrical holes 124,126 and 128 is provided with a wing head set screw 131i), 132and 134,respectively.

FIGURES 1 and '2 show a handle 136 with one end thereof inserted incylindrical hole 124. The other end of handle 136 is provided with acrossbar 138.

An electric motor 146 having an output shaft 142 is mounted on plate 144having extension 146 for supporting output shaft 142. Plate 144 is inturn mounted on cylindrical post 148 adapted to be received slidably incylindrical hole 126.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, it can be seen that a coil spring 150is connected at one end thereof to. support member 1118 and at the otherend thereof to motor mounting member 110. It will also be seen that whencoil spring 150 is in its extended position as shown in FIGURE 1 it willbias support member 1% to rotate toward motor mounting member 110 untilsuch time as coil spring 150 is in its fully retracted position as shownin FIGURE 2. As can also be seen, a small tip 152 extends from the endof motor mounting member 110 remote from motor 146 and overlies aportion of support member 1198. Tip152 is provided with another winghead set screw 154 which is adapted to be threadedly received by tip 152and bear against support member 108.

FIGURE 1 shows this'particular embodiment of my invention supported onfeet 120 and 122 of legs 116 and In order to transport this embodiment118, respectively. of my invention, it is merely necessary for theoperator to loosen wing head set screw 154- so that it does not bearagainst support member 193 and then pull on handle 136 by means of crossbar 133. As soon as the weight of the machine has been removed from feet124 and 122 and the machine is resting on tire 2, the coil spring 150 Vwill cause support member 108 to rotate into the position shown inFIGURE 2. Wing head set screw 154 can then be tightened so as to securesupport member 185 in this position when transporting the machine. The

. machine can then be transported by rolling it along tire head setscrew 13h can belloosened and handle 136 removedfrom the cylindricalhole 124. The end of handle 136 removed from the cylindrical hole 124can now be placed into cylindrical hole 128 and wing head leg asillustrated in FIGURE 3.

Furthermore, this embodiment of my invention pro- .vides a means'foradjusting the friction drive between output shaft 142 and tire 2. Thisis accomplished by loosening wing head set screw1132 and raising orlower ing post 148 within cylindrical hole 126. When post 148 is in thedesired position, thereby placing output shaft 142 in thedesiredposition relative to tire 2, wing head set screw 132 can be tightened tohold post 143 in 'place. This'arrangement can also be employed to remove output shaft 142 from contact with tire 2 when in such drum 1 willnot begin to rotate immediately, since the tire 2 and the output shaft142 are so contacted as to permit slippage. However, as the operatorbegins by hand to feed the cable 3 to which a cutting tool 16 has beena'i'fixed into the sewer or drain pipe, the friction between the outputshaft 142 and the tire 2 will be put 1 to use in therotation of the drum1 and the application of torque to the cable 3. The rotation of conduit102, on

the other hand, depends entirely on the positioning of the cableremaining in drum 1 Whenever the further feeding of cable into the seweris stopped or prevented, the clutch-like action between a the 2 andoutput shaft 142 comes into play and the transporting the machine in themanner described above.

Advantageously, the handle 136 and cross bar 138 are equipped with brakemeans for contact with tire 2.

' Although the embodiment of'the invention shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3show. the support means movably jointed at the drum axle, the supportmeans can be movably jointed at any point less than a drum radiusdistant from the axis of rotation of the drum to permit rotation drum 1stops its rotation. This, in turn, prevents the application of anytorque to cable 3 and, as a consequence, the cable is not liable totwist, kink, or even, break to the detriment of the equipment or theoperator. ther, the motor need not be turned off. The same is true whenthe cable is being withdrawn from the sewer pipe.

I claim:

1. A sewer pipe cleaning device comprising a drum for receiving flexiblecables and wires annularly coiled therein, a curved cable conduit oneend of which is rotatably mounted at one end of said drum adjacent theaxial line thereof with the other end of said conduit disposed withinsaid drum and extending outwardly from said axial line, an elongatedsupport means having a pair of spacedapart feet at one end and a handleat the other end of said support means, said drum beingrnounted uponsaid support means intermediate the ends thereof for rotation about anaxis perpendicular thereto, drive means movably mounted on said supportmeans intermediate the handle and the mounted drum, said'drive meansbeing capable of peripheral contact with the said drum for rotating saiddrum, said support means being movably jointed at a point less than a'drurn radius distant from the axis of rotation of the drum to permitrotation in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the drumand to permit support of the device by the drum, and means forpreventing rotation of said support means about the joint.

2. A device according to claim 1 which further comprises a tirepositioned about said drum and in which said drive means includes arotatable output shaft peripherally contacting said tire.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the support means comprises asupport member from which two legs depend and on which legs feetaremounted, the support'membe'r being in the same general plane'as thelegs, an axle perpendicular to said plane, said support member beingjoined at one end to said legs at a common point and at the other endenclosing said axle, a motor mounting member having ahandle at one endand at the other end enclosing saidaxle, and means associated withsaidsupport member and motor mounting member to hold them rigidlyaligned.

4. A sewer pipe cleaning device comprising a drum for receiving flexiblecables and wires annularly coiled therein, a cable annularly coiled insaid drum, a tire positioned about said drum, a curved cable conduit oneend of which is rotatably mounted atone end of said 'drum adjacent theaxial line thereof with the other end of said conduit disposed withinsaid drum and extending Furgeneral plane as said legs, an axleperpendicular to said plane, said support member being joined at one endto said legs at a common point and at the other end enclosing said axle,a motor mounting member having a handle at one end and at the other endenclosing said axle, means associated with said support member and motormounting member to hold them rigidly aligned, spring means associatedwith said support member and motor mounting member biasing said supportmember and motor mounting member to rotate about said axle relative toone another, said drum rotatably mounted on said axle, and drive meansmovably mounted on said motor mounting member including a rotatableoutput shaft peripherally contacting said tire, the spring meansrotating said support member and motor mounting member when not rigidlyaligned to permit support and movement of 5 the sewer pipe cleaningdevice on the drum tire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,468,490 Di Joseph Apr. 26, 1949 10 3,007,186 Olsson Nov. 7, 19613,048,870 Criscuolo Aug. 14, 1962

1. A SEWER PIPE CLEANING DEVICE COMPRISING A DRUM FOR RECEIVING FLEXIBLE CABLES AND WIRES ANNULARLY COILED THEREIN, A CURVED CABLE CONDUIT ONE END OF WHICH IS ROTATABLY MOUNTED AT ONE END OF SAID DRUM ADJACENT THE AXIAL LINE THEREOF WITH THE OTHER END OF SAID CONDUIT DISPOSED WITHIN SAID DRUM AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID AXIAL LINE, AN ELONGATED SUPPORT MEANS HAVING A PAIR OF SPACEDAPART FEET AT ONE END AND A HANDLE AT THE OTHER END OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS, SAID DRUM BEING MOUNTED UPON SAID SUPPORT MEANS INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR THERETO, DRIVE MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS INTERMEDIATE THE HANDLE AND THE MOUNTED DRUM, SAID DRIVE MEANS BEING CAPABLE OF PERIPHERAL CONTACT WITH THE SAID DRUM FOR ROTATING SAID DRUM, SAID SUPPORT MEANS BEING MOVABLY JOINTED AT A POINT LESS THAN A DRUM RADIUS DISTANT FROM THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE DRUM TO PERMIT ROTATION IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE DRUM AND TO PERMIT SUPPORT OF THE DEVICE BY THE DRUM, AND MEANS FOR PREVENTING ROTATION OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS ABOUT THE JOINT. 